HOGG participates in projects working with local schools to help them grow organically. This might be providing a greenhouse, a garden shed, expertise or something of that nature.

Up and Coming HOGG School Projects

Vegetable garden at Alder Bridge School, funded by HOGG.

HOGG SCHOOLS PROJECT

We all probably know of children who think that peas just come from Mum’s freezer and carrots from the tin in her cupboard. It is so important that they are given the chance to grow vegetables and fruit, enabling them to find out where their food comes from and to develop an appreciation of the work involved in producing it. School gardens are a really good way of achieving this.

Every experienced gardener started off as a novice, and gained confidence and, bit by bit, skill, by growing plants. This is why, as and when our group can afford to, we try to support local schools which want to improve an already established garden, but lack the funds to do this.

In particular, we want children to have opportunities for:

growing things they can eat or proudly present to the school canteen

learning how to grow them organically

enjoy growing things and find it satisfying

experience both success and failure as part of the fun of being alive

So far, we have supported four projects in schools in Romsey, Winchester, Burghclere and Aldermaston. One was trying to set up an area for growing top and soft fruit, but had no budget for buying the plants. Another needed a covered area for the children to learn sowing, pricking out and potting on etc. This school has a bevy of interested parents, but again, a tight budget. Another has a long-established organic vegetable garden where successive groups of children have worked, but inadequate potting facilities. The fourth wanted to build raised vegetable beds where the children could grow organic vegetables.

Do you know how to achieve good spacing of brussels sprouts while simultaneously teaching cooperation and instilling a love of growing vegetables? It’s easy – just line up your 6 year-olds along the row with a trowel and plant apiece, tell them to hold hands with arms outstretched, kneel down and pop your plant in firmly!

The common factors in all four were a tight budget for gardening and one dedicated teacher willing to put time and effort into making a gardening project happen. For all of these schools HOGG has been able to make a difference to the children, giving them the chance to take their gardening knowledge forward in their lives. Interestingly, in some of these projects, the enthusiasm of the children encouraged their parents to start producing food in their own gardens at home.